Dispensing package



April 5, 1966 w. L. BERRYMAN ETAL 3,244,318

DISPENSING PACKAGE Filed Nov. 13, 1963 INVENTORSZ TIEIE:

United States Patent C Filed Nov. 13, 1963, Ser. No. 323,475 4' Claims. (Cl. 221-63) The present invention relates to packages for flufly absorbent fiber balls such as cotton balls.

Heretofore, these fiutfy and bulky cotton balls have been packaged in boxes or other containers having a folding top which is adapted to be opened for access to the balls and closed again to contain the remainder. While packages of this type are quite inconvenient, they have remained in use in order to hold the large number of relatively bulky balls originally contained in the package and yet provide access to the last balls left in the container.

According to the present invention, a dispensing package for fluffy absorbent fiber balls, such as cotton balls, is provided which comprises a flexible bag of thin durable and fatigue-resistant sheet material and a multiplicity of flulfy balls of intermingled absorbent fibers within the bag. The bag comprises a transparent sheet portion which defines a dispensing opening and the balls, though normally retained within the bag, are adapted to be dispensed therefrom by squeezing the bag toposition a ball in the opening and then removing the ball from the bag through the opening. The balls are substantially uniform in dimension and the cross dimension of the opening is less than the normal cross dimension of the balls so that it is necessary to compress the balls slightly to remove them from the bag through the opening. This relationship between the cross dimension of the balls and the opening normally tends to retain the balls in the bag.

Preferably, the dispensing opening is defined by spaced perforations, or some other partially cut outline, formed in the transparent sheet portion of the bag in the shape of the opening. The perforations may be cut or stamped in the sheet and spaced from one another in such a way that the part of the transparent sheet portion remaining within the opening is temporarily retained therein by the uncut portions of the sheet between the perforations to form a removable closure for the opening. This closure is adapted to be removed from the bag easily by pinching the closure between the fingers and pulling it away from the bag to break the uncut portions.

Preferably, the bag is formed entirely of one or more thin transparent plastic sheets of a material such as polyethylene and the balls, themselves, comprise fibers of an absorbent cosmetic material such as cotton. The balls may be round in shape or even somewhat cylindrical. However, it is preferable that their shortest cross dimension bear a relationship to the cross dimension of the opening which would require that the balls be compressed somewhat, or reduced from their normal cross dimension in order to pass through the opening.

Other and further characteristics of this invention will be apparent from the following description and claims taken together with the drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a dispensing package according to a preferred embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one side of the package of FIG. 1 showing the pinch and pull closure before it is removed from the dispensing opening;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view in elevation partly broken away to show the absorbent balls inside in the plane of their shortest dimension.

3,244,318 Patented Apr. 5, 1966 of the bag and showing removal of the pinch and pull closure;

FIG. 4 is a view of the package of FIG. 1 after the closure has been removed and showing the bag being squeezed to position a ball in the dispensing opening;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged schematic view along the line 55 of FIG. 4 showing how a ball is positioned in the dispensing opening when the bag is squeezed;

FIG. 6 is a schematic single-line sectional view taken longitudinally through the bag of FIG. 1 before it is sealed and closed at the bottom;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged sectional view taken longitudinally through one end of the bag of the preceding figures and showing how the end of the bag is folded to provide sufficient strength around the hanging opening located therein;

FIG. 8 is a greatly enlarged plan view of a portion of the bag of FIG. 1 showing a valve for relieving pressure when the bag is squeezed.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a dispensing package according to a preferred embodiment of this invention which comprises a flexible bag 11 formed from a top sheet portion 12 and a bottom sheet portion 13 of transparent fatigue-resistant flexible plastic sheet material. The bag 11 is formed by folding an elongated piece of said sheet material transversely to superimpose its two halves which act as the sheets 12 and 13 and toform a folded end seam 15 comprising four layersv of material. The side edges of the sheet are then sealed together and trimmed to form a bag open at the bottom as shown schematically in FIG. 6. The bag is filledwith a multiplicity of absorbent balls 14, such as cotton balls, through its open bottom which later is sealed r shut and trimmed to completely enclose the cotton balls.

Preferably, the end seam 15 is punctured to provide a hole 16 for hanging the bag for storage or display purposes, and is folded to include four layers of the bag material held in position by a heat seal 20 passing across the bagand separating the hanging partion from the remainder of the bag.

A dispensing opening 17 is formed in the bag 11 prior to the filling of the bag and preferably the dispensing opening is formed in the top sheet 12 of the bag before the top sheet is secured to the bottom sheet. The dispensing opening 17 may be stamped or cut in the top sheet by a die which makes a series of spaced perforations 18 which define the shape of the opening and outline a closure part 19 of the sheet detachably remaining within the opening. The perforations 18 are spaced from one another so as to leave a series of spaced short nib portions 21 holding the closure 19 in the opening. The perforations 18 may, or may not, pass completely through the sheet. However, they should be sufficiently deep and sufficiently close to one another to assure that the closure part 19 of the sheet may be removed easily from the bag by pinching the closure between the fingers and pulling it from the bag as illustrated in FIG. 3.

A relatively large number of absorbent balls 14 originally are packed in the bag. For instance, for an economy size package, approximately 260 five-grain cotton balls may be placed in the bag. These balls are substantially uniform in dimension and balanced in shape, i.e., their Width is approximately the same in all directions The dispensing opening itself is somewhat oval as shown most clearly in FIG. 2. When it is disired to dispense a ball the bag is squeezed, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 and described hereinbefore, to position one of the balls 14 in the opening 17. Since the shortest cross dimension of the ball 14 is less than the width of the opening 17, the ball would not pass through the opening unless the bag is squeezed to compress the ball somewhat and force it into the opening, as shown in FIG. 5. This means that the balls 14 normally are retained in the bag and can not be displaced through the opening unless the bag is squeezed. The oval shape of the opening 17 facilitates somewhat the gripping of .the ball positioned in the opening by the fingers for removal of the ball from the bag by drawing it through the opening. The transparency and flexibility of the thin yet durable bag material allows the last ball to be positioned easily in the opening by working and squeezing the bag. Thus, all of the balls can be reached easily and quickly through the dispensing opening without the need for opening and closing the container.

To assure that the bag may be squeezed easily to position balls in the dispensing opening 17, as described above, two pairs of pressure relief valves, or openings 21, preferably are provided in the top and bottom sheet portions 12 and 13, respectively, at locations spaced from the dispensing opening 17 to prevent a pressure build-up inside the bag. The relief openings 21 may be formed by partially punching or cutting out a small sheet portion in such a Way that it remains in the opening as a partially attached flap 22, as shown most clearly in FIG. 8. The flap 22 provides a flutter valve feature in that it remains in place in the relief opening to prevent large particles from passing into the bag but flutters open at its ends to allow air to pass through the relief openings when pressure is applied to the bag. One pair of relief openings 21 is located at the top of the bag and the other pair of relief openings is located at the bottom of the bag to minimize the likelihood that pressure will build up at either end of the bag.

Another advantage of a package of this type is the fact that it is extremely inexpensive. It also is very convenient for sales and display purposes since the product itself can be seen through the package and the package can be hung easily on a peg, not shown, for storage or display by inserting the peg through the hanging opening 16 in the folded end of the pack-age.

Having now described the invention in specific detail and exemplified the manner in which it may be carried into practice, it will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art that innumerable variations, applications, modifications, and extensions of the basic principles involved may be made without departing from its spirit or scope.

The invention claimed is:

1. A dispensing package for fluffy absorbent fiber balls, which comprises a flexible bag of thin, durable and fatigue-resistant sheet material, said bag comprising a transparent sheet portion defining a dispensing opening, a multiplicity of fluffy balls of intermingled absorbent fibers within said bag, and a pressure relief opening, in the sides of the bag, at a location spaced from said dispensing opening, said balls normally being retained within said bag and being adapted to be dispensed therefrom by squeezing the bag to position a ball to be dispensed in the opening and removing said ball from the bag through the opening.

2. A dispensing package according to claim 1, wherein there is at least one of said pressure relief openings at each end of the bag.

3. A dispensing package according to claim 1, wherein a flap is positioned in said pressure relief opening to minimize the likelihood that particles Will enter the bag through said relief opening.

4. A dispensing package for fluffy absorbent fiber balls, which comprises a flexible bag of thin, durable and fatigue-resistant sheet material, said bag comprising a transparent sheet portion defining a dispensing opening, and a multiplicity of fluffy balls of intermingled absorbent fibers within said bag, said balls being substantially uniform in dimension and the cross dimension of said opening being less than the normal cross dimension of said balls, said balls normally being retained within said bag and being adapted to be dispensed therefrom by squeezing the bag to position a ball to be dispensed in the opening and compressing said balls slightly to remove them from the bag through said opening.

References *Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,998,481 4/1935 Yoder. 3,024,958 3/1962 Loderhose 22l--63 3,174,644 3/1965 Kaltman et al 221-63 3,184,149 5/1965 Repko 22966 RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Primary Examiner.

WALTER SOBIN, Examiner. 

1. A DISPENSING PACKAGE FOR FLUFFY ABSORBENT FIBER BALLS, WHICH COMPRISES A FLEXIBLE BAG OF THIN, DURABLE AND FATIGUE-RESISTANT SHEET MATERIAL, SAID BAG COMPRISING A TRANSPARENT SHEET PORTION DEFINING A DISPENSING OPENING, A MULTIPLICITY OF FLUFFY BALLS OF INTERMINGLED ABSORBENT FIBERS WITHIN SAID BAG, AND A PRESSURE RELIEF OPENING, IN THE SIDES OF THE BAG, AT A LOCATION SPACED FROM SAID DISPENSING OPENING, SAID BALLS NORMALLY BEING RETAINED WITHIN SAID BAG AND BEING ADAPTED TO BE DISPENSED THEREFROM BY SQUEEZING THE BAG TO POSITION A BALL TO BE DISPENSED IN THE OPENING AND REMOVING SAID BALL FROM THE BAG THROUGH THE OPENING. 